Dec. 7, 2010

Box Score

Sophomore G Bianca Simmons (Middletown, Conn.) compiled 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists but it was not enough as No. 10 Franklin Pierce defeated UMass Lowell, 71-62, Tuesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference women’s basketball clash at the FPU Fieldhouse.

 

With the loss, UMass Lowell slipped to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the NE-10 entering Saturday night’s game with Merrimack at the Tsongas Center (7:00). The Ravens improved to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Conference.

Simmons converted 6 of 7 free throws and grabbed four offensive rebounds. Sophomore F Sarah Bennett (Newark, Ohio) added 11 points and eight rebounds as she converted 5 of 8 field goals.

“We struggled to score,” said UML Head Coach Kathy O’Neil. “We made a couple of runs at them, but they responded. We have to do a better job of the ball.”

Junior C Jewel White led Franklin Pierce with 20 points and 10 rebounds while sophomore G Tiffany Johnson added 16 points and six steals. Freshman G Brittany Martelle chipped in 14 points and four rebounds as she shot 5 for 9 from the field.

Turnovers plagued the River Hawks as they committed 23 opposed to 13 by Franklin Pierce. The miscues enabled the Ravens to mount a 26-9 edge in points off turnovers and a 17-6 edge in steals.

Franklin Pierce also posted a 24-11 advantage at the free throw line, shooting 27 freebies to UMass Lowell’s 13.

Franklin Pierce led 43-37 with 14:02 left to play, but the River Hawks used a 10-4 spurt to knot the score, 47-47, with 10:35 remaining. Junior F Sha’Nay Bushner (Akron, Ohio) led the run with five points while senior G Krissy Little (Concord, N.H.) capped it with a conventional 3-point play.

The Ravens, however, countered with a 9-2 run of their own, led by a conventional 3-point play by Martelle, to post a 58-49 lead with 8:07 to play. Trailing by 12 (65-53) with 5:56 left, UMass Lowell cut the lead to 67-62 with 2:10 remaining behind a pair of layups and a free throw by Bennett.

Franklin Pierce, however, converted four free throws in the final 37 seconds to preserve the win.